Creep behaviour of ozone treated jute fabric/epoxy composites filled with ozonized and pulverized corn husk particles

Abstract

In present work, the creep performance of ozone treated jute fabric/epoxy composites was studied at different environment temperatures after incorporation of 1, 3 and 5 wt % of ozonized and pulverized corn husk particles. The ozone treatment of jute fabric as well as corn husk fibres was found successful in removal of non-cellulosic contents. Furthermore, the ozone treatment of corn husk fibres was observed beneficial during ball milling as it easily pulverized them into particles due to decrease in strength. When the creep behaviour of composites was investigated using several creep models (i.e., Findley's power law model, Burger's model, and Coupling Model), the incorporation 3 wt % corn husk particles was found to reduce the creep deformation and strain rate of composites to greater extent especially at higher temperatures. The 3 wt % corn husk particles were found to restrict the segmental mobility of epoxy matrix in extended temperature range of 100 °C–140 °C. Nevertheless, the microbead pull out and nanoindentation tests indicated that the interfacial shear strength properties of composites increased after the incorporation of 5 wt % of corn husk particles. Among various creep models, the coupling model predicted the creep behaviour of composites more accurately in addition to explanation on the creep mechanism.